Eagles Fall, 7-3, in NAIA Opener to Pilots

Eagles Fall, 7-3, in NAIA Opener to Pilots
Box Score
May 17, 2021

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

Photo Courtesy of Cumberlands (Ky.) Sports Information 

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – LSU-Shreveport (La.) hit a homer on the third pitch of the game and never looked back in the NAIA Baseball Opening Round against Reinhardt, as the Pilots scored runs in the first four innings to secure a 7-3 final at Doyle Buhl Stadium in Kentucky.

The Eagles (32-20) will need to bounce back in a big way beginning on Tuesday after dropping three-consecutive outcomes on a neutral field in postseason play.

"Very difficult day for us as a team," head coach Jonathan Burton said. "We really did not play with much emotion or passion today, and in this environment, that is something that you need to do and bring each and every day with your season on the line. We need to find that passion before we play in our first game tomorrow in order to have any type of success."

LSU-Shreveport connected with another loud shot in the second – this time a 2-run blast – for a 3-run advantage before adding one more tally in the third on a sacrifice bunt squeeze for a 4-0 lead heading to the fourth.

The hometown team, who gathered just seven hits in defeat, got a big spark from Albert Mora in the top of the fourth to the tune of a 3-run home run to cut the deficit to 4-3. The Pilots, however, responded with yet another score to push the cushion back to a pair at 5-3.

Reinhardt would be held relatively quiet the rest of the way and the score remained the same until LSU-Shreveport added a couple more thanks to an RBI-single and an error.

Nick Sanders was a bright spot for the Eagles as he went 3-for-4 on the afternoon.

Nate Richardson got the loss after three runs in just one inning of work.

The season is on the line tomorrow afternoon when the club takes on Mayville State (N.D.) in an elimination game at Noon.

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Baseball, please click here.